Twisted
by degrassiXlove409
Summary: Clare gets seriously messed up after her parents divorce. Will Eli be able to help her find herself again? This story will get rather dark, just so you're forewarned.
1. Chapter 1

Soo my first story wasn't too popular. I'm starting a new one. :D I think my first story was too.. realistic? Boring, even. So this one's way darker. An entirely new take on clare. And possibly eli. Get ready (:

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"We need to tell her tonight, Helen. She knows something's wrong."

"Okay, fine. But we're _not _going to tell her all of it, Randall. I wouldn't make her listen to that nauseating story of your co-worker and yourself,"

Uncomfortable silence.

"Okay. We'll make it very simple, then."

I backed away from the railing I was hiding behind, preparing myself for the invitation downstairs. It was all I could do to keep myself from breaking down and crying. At last, after what seemed like hours, my mother said in a very fakely sweet voice, "Clare, honey? Can you come downstairs for a minute?"

_Deep breaths, Clare_.

I slowly made my way down the stairs, purposely prolonging the few moments I had left before I could no longer claim ignorance to my parents' failing marriage.

My parents took their seats in the living room- my mom on the couch, and my dad on a chair on the opposite end of the room. My mom motioned for me to sit next to her.

"What's going on, guys?" God, I sounded so fake. How could I not? It was so obvious what they were going to tell me.

"Clare, dear…" My mom started, "your father and I, well, haven't been getting along too well for a while now." I almost rolled my eyes. If I was Eli, I would have said _oh, really? Hadn't noticed!_ I reigned myself in.

My mom looked at my dad very pointedly. She was going to make him say it. He cleared his throat.

"Sweetie. Your mother and I think it'll be easier for us, and you, if we…separate."

They were trying to sugar coat it. Make it sound nicer than it really was. I wouldn't have it.

"You're getting a divorce."

They looked very awkward at the blunt truth of it. How could they? It was their decision. Their fault.

"Well, yes." My mom finally spoke.

Even though I knew this was what they were going to tell me, it still hurt. My eyes stung with tears. I couldn't believe this was happening to my family. The good Christian family. We always went to church, always served our duty to God. And look where it got us. Suddenly, I was pissed. Not sad. I didn't deserve this. What was the point in being a loyal, good kid if I was punished anyway?

"Well, I'm _so_ glad you guys finally got the courage to tell me. You don't need to lie to me, though, dad." I turned to him and narrowed my eyes. But I kept smiling. It was either that or cry. "I would have thought my own father would at least tell me the truth. But, hey, maybe now I can meet this co-worker you've been cheating on mom with? I'm sure she's a very nice lady." My parents' eyes both widened. Did they really think they were doing a good job keeping this a secret? I scoffed, getting up from my spot and half-running up the stairs. I shouted behind me, "Bastard!" and I hope it really hurt.

Upstairs, I allowed myself to let loose the tears I'd kept away from my parents. I lay curled up in a ball, crying and cursing all night. It was the first of many sleepless nights.

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Bwahaha. I'm quite excited to see where clare ends up in this tale. Are you? Have suggestions? Comments? Questions? Review!


	2. Chapter 2

Phew! this is a long chapter. Hope you enjoy.

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When I woke up Wednesday morning, I expected to feel better- at least a little. Normally after crying like that and having a good night's sleep, I woke up feeling a bit refreshed, and ready to take on whatever was thrown at me. Not this time. A flood of sounds from last night hit me and I felt just as bad as the previous night. There was no way I was going to school like this. But I didn't want to talk to my parents right now, much less look at them. That is, if my dad was even here anymore… For all I know, he got out of here last night, as soon as he could. What a dick.

I got out of bed and looked at myself in the mirror. I was a mess. My hair was tangled and all over the place, and my cheeks were red and lined with tearstains. What little makeup I had on had smudged. I decided I needed a shower. After that, I got dressed, but I was too lazy to put a real outfit together. I settled on sweatpants and a t-shirt. I didn't bother to put any makeup on or do my hair, so it lay lifelessly on the side of my head. I wasn't planning on going to school anyways, so what did it matter?

I headed downstairs and walked quickly to the front door before my mom could see me, if she happened to be in the kitchen. I didn't see anyone out of the corner of my eye as I passed, though. Maybe I wasn't the only one neglecting my daily routine. After slipping shoes on, I quietly opened the door and stepped outside.

It was abnormally warm for a late fall day, and sunny. The trees all had varying shades of red leaves, which blew in the soft wind. It smelled crisp and lovely out. I was glad I had gone outside. I didn't really know where I wanted to walk to- only that I needed to get out of my house. So I wandered aimlessly out of my neighborhood, into part of the town with shops and restaurants. I purposely stayed away from the road with the Dot, knowing someone would recognize me there.

On this street, there were a few clothing stores I'd never really looked at before. I always went shopping with my mom, and to the same places. Thinking of my mom brought on another round of anger and sadness. I didn't ever want to go shopping with the stupid woman again. For the first time, I walked into one of the stores, if only for the satisfaction of being there alone. But I actually liked what was in it. It was different from my style, which was flowery and girly, but I wanted to try some things on. I guess I could best classify its style as alternative. There was lots of black, all the jeans were skinny, but there were a lot of neon, brightly coloured things as well. I found a dress with a black, scoop neck top and bright purple and yellow below the bust. It poofed out a bit, like a ballerina tutu. It was so not me. But I didn't want to be me anymore. I checked the price tag. It had been marked down to 15 bucks. But I didn't have any money.

I sighed and put my hand in my back pocket, as if wishing to make money appear there. But there was already a bill in the pocket. I pulled it out. A 50 dollar bill- the one I was given after baby sitting for an entire day. It was meant to be.

I looked around the store more and picked up another dress, a long stripped shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. I tried it all on, and it fit perfectly. I headed to the checkout.

The cashier was a fashionable guy- he had a scarf on and his outfit matched really well- that looked like he was in his early twenties, and he complimented my choices of purchase. "This'll all look really good on you," he said warmly. I thanked him. "You know what would go perfect with this dress?" He left his place behind the counter to a shelf nearby with brightly coloured shoes on it. He pulled out a pair of bright yellow flats; they were exactly the same colour as the yellow on my dress. He held them up proudly. (I'm pretty sure he was, ya know. Gay.)

"You're right, those look fantastic." I beamed. My smile fell. "I only have 5 more dollars after every thing else, though."

"Hmm, well. For you, pretty lady, I'll make an exception. You can have them for five."

I really loved this store.

I walked back home, feeling much better. When I got there, there was no sign of my mom. I guess she went into work, after all. Maybe she left early to avoid seeing me. That was fine; I didn't want to see her either.

The clock in my room showed it was 11:00 A.M. I had spent quite some time walking to, and looking around the store. With a laugh, I realized I'd be in history if I had gone to school today. I had never felt so good about doing the wrong thing. I decided to put my new dress and shoes on and go out to lunch.

The dress looked fantastic, as I had hoped. I straightened my bangs and fixed the curls with anti-frizz curling serum, then did my makeup. The brown eyeliner didn't look right, though. So I got out a black liner Ali had given me a while back and put just a little on. I was surprised to like it a lot more than the brown. It looked better with my shade of blue eyes. I got out a little black bag and put my pink purses' contents in it and headed back out. On the way to the café, I was honked and whistled at three times. I must say, my confidence was boosted a ton.

On my way back from the restaurant, I passed a tattoo parlor, but was stopped by a guy with tattooed sleeves and gauges outside the shop.

"Hey there! Loving your outfit." He said.

I stopped and smiled. "Thank you."

"We have piercings half off today, and a lip piercing would look fantastic with that indie look you've got going." Any other time, I would never even have thought about a piercing other than my first set on my ears. But I felt like a new Clare today. And I did have plenty of money left, thanks to babysitting and my mom's attempt to buy my love and support through the fighting with Dad. It would be fitting, I thought, to use that money on something she would loathe. So I said, "Okay, I'm in."

I wound up getting what's called a "Monroe piercing", which is just above the lip (the guy said it was named after Marilyn Monroe, since she had a birth mark there?) It didn't even hurt, or maybe my elation of the day just covered it. When it was all done, the guy handed me a mirror. "Take a look!" He said. My upper lip was a little red around the silver stud, but it looked fantastic. I thanked the man and practically skipped outside. This was the best day I'd had in months.

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Soo you may be thinking, woah. Clare kinda up and changed herself without even thinking about it. Trust mee, it's all part of the plot always, feel free to ask questions, make comments or suggestions by REVIEWING :)


	3. Chapter 3

Just so you know, in my story, Eli and Clare are not together yet. Just good friends. Who flirt a lot. Haha.

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When I got home, I went up to my room. Something under my covers was lit up. My phone! I hadn't even checked it since last afternoon. I had two missed calls from Eli (one from last night and another from today at lunch time) and a text from him as well. The text was from ten minutes ago, only a minute after school got out. It said, "Edwards, is everything alright? Where were you at school today? Don't make me come over there…" My face lit up. Who knew my English partner (and, since Ali moved, pretty much my best friend) would care so much that I was absent? I went to the bathroom to see my new piercing in better light. The swelling and redness had already gone down significantly. Just then, the door opened. _That's weird_, I thought. Mom doesn't usually get home until 5. I was still feeling ecstatic. I knew she wouldn't be able to ruin my mood. Plus, I was way excited to see her reaction to my new look. So I skipped down the stairs, only to stop half way in shock. It wasn't my mom in the front foyer; it was Eli. He looked just as shocked as me. I didn't understand why at first- he was the one that broke into MY house…

"Eli, there's this polite thing called knocking. In fact, they even put doorbells on houses now! Should I show you how they work?" I was smiling at him. He still looked shocked.

Only then did I realize why. I spun around and fanned my dress out a bit.

"Like it?"

"Wow." Was all he could say. For a minute we just stood there- him dumbfounded and me smiling like mad at his reaction. He seemed to snap out of it then.  
"Soo, you ditched school to go shopping and get your lip pierced? Why Clare, I'm insulted. Why didn't you invite me?" He was smirking now.

I laughed. "It was sort of spontaneous. I would have let you come if I had known I'd be doing it."

"And what led you to this great rebellious attitude?"  
"How do you know I'm being rebellious?" I questioned.

"Clare, come on. I may not have met your parents but I can tell they're rather strict. Does your mom know you got that?" He pointed at my piercing.

Man, he saw right through me every time. I guess now I'd have to explain it. Lovely.

"No, she doesn't. And I'm not really rebelling, exactly…" I paused, thinking. Why exactly _had_ I gone and spent a ton of money and gotten a piercing? All I knew was it sounded like a perfect idea at the time.

Just like that, my elation was gone. I had been stupid. Changing the way I looked wasn't going to change my family, and how screwed up it had become. My dad was still gone and my mom was a mess and everything was just horrible. Tears stung in my eyes.

Eli looked alarmed.

"Clare? Clare what's wrong?"

Why was he even here, worried about me? I didn't deserve his comfort.

"Eli, just go."

"Clare…" He made to reach out to me.  
"Just go!" I screamed.

Alarm turned to hurt in his eyes, and I felt terrible for yelling at him. But he shouldn't have to deal with me. I turned and ran up the stairs, scared to look back and see his reaction. As soon as I jumped on to my bed, I realized I was exhausted. Within the minute, I was asleep.

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This chapter was much shorter. Maybe if you review, I will put more up today?


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, its official. I need a story name. If you can think of one before I have, please suggest it. Haha. Anybody figured out what Clare's problem is yet? (;

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When I woke up it was light out- that surprised me. I still felt so tired. I sat up in bed slowly and glanced at my clock. It was nine in the morning. I had slept through the night and into the next school day. And all I wanted to do was keep sleeping. I wondered briefly where my mom was, and if she noticed I had missed two days of school already. Shouldn't the school have called? _And speaking of calling_, I thought, _has Eli tried contacting me since yesterday? _

It took me a while to drag myself out of bed and find my phone on the ground, where it must have fallen during the night. Eli had texted me. **I waited for you to wake up so we could talk, you seemed really upset… but you were fast asleep and your mother eventually made me leave. Please call me once you get this. **It was like he knew I wouldn't come to school today. I wanted desperately to tell him it wasn't his fault I yelled- I just needed to be alone. But I didn't have the energy to argue with him over skipping school and feeling terrible. I didn't have the energy for anything. I hopped back in bed and fell asleep again.

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Upon awakening again, my clock told me it was six at night. I was not tired at all anymore, the complete opposite of this morning. I was restless. I got out of bed and went downstairs to find a note from my mom on the kitchen table. _Clare, working late. Mom._ No I love you, no wondering why I'd missed the last two days of school. It didn't bother me, though. I was happy to be alone.

I ran back upstairs and took a really quick shower. It was like I was in hyperactive mode after sleeping all day. I had new clothes to wear but I wanted to shop again. I was using all of my money, though. Then it hit me. My mom kept an extra credit card on top of her drawer for "emergencies". What emergencies required a credit card, I had no idea. She probably never checked the balance anyways. So I got dressed in sweats, just like last time I had gone shopping, and went into her room to get her credit card. The closet was open, and it was a shock to see half of it empty. Dad's stuff was all gone. I grabbed the card and ran out of there as fast as I could.

I went to the same indie shop I had last time, and spent a hundred dollars on a bunch of cute, edgy stuff. The lady at the checkout looked surprised, but I barely noticed. I was feeling ecstatic again.

On my way home, I noticed a car slow down behind me. I should have been scared. I wasn't. Before I even recognized the hearse, Eli had the window rolled down and called out to me. "Clare, what are you doing out here?"

I smiled. Why had I been too upset to talk to him, earlier? He stopped the car and I hopped in. "Hi, Eli!" I practically sang.

"Well, you seem much happier…" He said.

"I am. Sorry I flipped out on you yesterday. My parents finally told me they got a divorce and I thought it wasn't affecting me but apparently it hit me when you came…"

"Oh Clare, I'm so sorry. You should have told me.."

"It's fine." I was still smiling. "I'm fine."

"I can see that," he laughed and gestured toward the bag. "More new clothes, huh?"

"Yep. You should come home with me and I can show them to you." I was half-kidding, since that's a really girly thing, but I did want to hang out with him more.

To my surprise, he agreed. Maybe he wanted to stay with me, too.

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"Where's your mom?" He asked when we got inside.

"Working," I answered while heading upstairs. I heard him follow close behind.

"Guess it's just you and me, then?" He smirked. _Man I love that smirk._

"Guess so." My heart rate picked up speed. I sat down on my bed and patted the spot next to me. He sat down and turned to me.

"You know, I really am glad you're okay. You had me worried there."

"Did I? Wow. Eli Goldsworthy cares about me?" I said with mock surprise.

"I do." He said seriously. He stared at me and I stared back, my pulse practically audible.

"So, wanna show me your new stuff?" He didn't even look at the bags of clothes.

"I have something better in mind."

I pulled his face close to mine and pressed my lips to his. He kissed me back, and I could have just died with happiness. We kept kissing, and I pulled myself on his lap. He seemed more than okay with that. I don't know how long it was before we heard the front door open and shut. He pulled away abruptly, and looked at me, panic-stricken. I didn't really care- I just wanted to keep kissing him. But it was obvious my mother had ruined that. So I gestured for him to follow me to the window and I opened it.

There was a tree with a conveniently placed branch right outside. He smirked and hopped out on to it silently. I had to admit, he was pretty graceful. I whispered, "Eli!" and he turned back around to face me from the branch. I leaned out the window and kissed him again, before smiling and closing the window. He was smiling too, as he climbed down into the darkness.

I heard my mom downstairs, probably making food for herself. I wasn't hungry, even though I hadn't eaten in almost two days. She wasn't going to bother me, I was almost positive. I turned the light off in my room just in case, so she would think I was asleep or something. Then I lay down on my bed and thought about Eli. My heart was still pounding. This was an entirely new feeling. Was it lust? I _wanted_ him. It was a really lovely emotion. I could almost understand why my dad had succumbed to it and cheated on Mom. I imagined Eli still here with me, and that we had gone farther, and farther... I slipped under the covers, closed my eyes, and pictured him getting naked. I could see myself touching him, telling him to do what I knew he wanted to. I let his finger trail down my naval, and then take my pants off…

After, you know, "sleeping with Eli", I just stared up at my ceiling with wide eyes. I couldn't sleep- I wasn't tired in the least. All I could think about was how I wanted Eli to do that to me in real life.

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Ooooh, getting steamy in this chapter! Haha, but don't worry. I try not to make anything too insanely graphic. This is just an eclare story, after all! Lemmme know what you think by reviewing! :D


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the reviews so far guys (: I know it seems like Clare is being really weird but that's sort of the point.. you'll get it soon enough, I promise. Plus, I didn't want to make this exactly like Degrassi would. That would be boring! Anyways, here's your next chapter.

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The night passed and when the sun rose, I was still awake, not tired in the least. I decided to get up and shower. The day was Friday, and I was going to attend school today. I had a bunch of new clothes, and I couldn't wait to see Eli.

When I was dressed (in another vintage-esque dress and black flats) and ready I headed downstairs to eat. I was early, so I decided to make myself breakfast. I hadn't eaten in…I realized I didn't even know how long it had been. I was famished.

I made three eggs, two pieces of bacon and two pieces of toast, then ate them in record time. After brushing my teeth, I decided to go outside early and enjoy the morning before the bus came. Turns out, I didn't have to wait. Eli passed my house and came to a stop when he saw me standing outside. I skipped to his car and hopped in. He smiled at me, but his eyes looked wary. Like he wasn't sure if I was going to burst into tears or climb into his lap. I smiled warmly. "Good morning, Eli."

"Morning, Edwards." He smirked. It became apparent we needed to talk about last night. We were 'just friends' before that, but we could hardly stay that after the previous evening. Seeming to read my mind, he cleared his throat. "Soo, last night was…fun." His smirk became more pronounced. "I'm wondering if we can make that a habit...?" Oh my god, was he asking to go out with me? I could have squealed.

"You mean, as in, you want to be my boyfriend?"

"Wow, Clare, I hadn't thought of it but now that you mention it… I could be your boyfriend…" He was smiling now.

I laughed. "Awesome! I'm so glad **I** brought it up then." With that, he took my hand, and it was official. It seemed so simple. So right.

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Adam didn't seem surprised at all that we'd made it official. He did, however, make a point to roll his eyes and fake gag every time we kissed (which was a rather high amount, I must admit). It didn't even bother us.

At lunch, Eli asked if I wanted to come over tonight and watch movies or something. His parents, apparently, were going out of town for the weekend. Adam interjected.

"Aw, come on man! You've been waiting for them to leave for a month and now you're just gonna have your girlfriend over? Boooringgg!" Eli shot him a glare.

"Well, Eli, he's sort of right. Why don't you have a bunch of people over tonight, since you can? I'll still be there."

"Are you sure, Clare?"

"Of course." This would be the first party I'd go to as new Clare. I was excited to see what would happen.

I went to the store after school with Eli to get food and what not for the party. Then we went to his house to set it up. Adam had promised he (and probably, his very popular step-brother Drew) would make sure the party was known about throughout the school. We didn't know how many people would end up showing up, so we got a load of food just in case. I promised myself to make this night one to remember.

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Alright, I figured this was a good place to stop- right before the party. I'm writing it right now, but I wanted to put this up right away. Sort of a filler chapter, but Eli and Clare are together now! *** clap clap * **Heyyyy, wanna give me suggestions for what goes down at the party? Or comment on anything so far? There's a place just for that! CLICK THE BLUE LINK. (:


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